I replaced the rear pads and rotors a few months ago and noticed that the parking brakes were wearing, as though they were applied while driving. I made a mental note and ordered the shoes and hardware kit. A couple of weeks later I was driving and heard an awful grinding sound coming from the rear. I stopped and pulled off the rotors and discovered the retaining pin and Shoe Strut had both become dislodged. The strut was still there but the spring and retaining cup were both gone. I removed the rest of the hardware and drove home. When I installed the new shoes and hardware kit, everything installed nicely. The Hold Down Springs were a pain to install because of the hub, but I managed. The problem arose when I wanted to reinstall the Rotor/Hub. Nothing I could do, short of beating it on with a hammer, could get the Rotor/Hub over the parking brakes. My first thought was that the adjuster was too far out. Upon examination I found that it was run all the way in and was tight. When I actuated the parking brake pedal, the brake mechanism worked smoothly. Still, the Rotor/Hub would not go over the brakes. I then disassembled the brakes and reinstalled the hardware and encountered the exact same problem. It then disassembled the brake again and took everything to a nearby shop. They ran into the same problem. They had new shoes and hubs delivered and they have the same issue. I have called Toyota and they sent me the pictures which confirmed everything was installed properly. Now I have no parking brakes and an unhappy wife. Has anyone else run into this? There is a special place in mechanics hell for whoever designed this. I know this is a standard way to do this in Toyota vehicles but it is an iron-assed biatch to fix.

Can you provide more info.
Got pics?
What year?
Did you buy used?
Can you tell if the brakes were serviced before you did them?
Is there slack in the brake cable when you’re trying to compress the assy?

I have pics and I'll figure out how to post them. It is a 2011 SR5 4x4. I purchased it as a Toyota Certified Preowned. I'm guessing it was a lease as the same person shows up on the records for the first two years. I do know it was from Pennsylvania, so it was exposed to salt. That may be why the hardware failed eventually. The rear brakes were replaced prior to this but not the parking brakes. I'm not sure this is what you are looking for but when I depressed the parking brake it expaned the brakes as expected. When I released the parking brake pedal the cable slacked but the brakes only compressed a little. Not as much as I expected.

There may be additional issues you’re dealing with, but could you take the rotor to a shop with a brake lathe and have them “turn” that portion like we used to turn and true up old drums in full drum brakes. Could you remove some material that way for it to fit...?

Look at this thread in the 4th gen section.
Broke something in the parking brake mechanism while doing the rear disc brakes
Sounds like a common issue is the hold-down springs get elongated and need replacing for everything to fit back together.

I hadn't considered having the drum turned. I don't even know for sure if it can be done on one of the combination Rotor/Drum but it may be worth a try. They are brand new but nothing else seems to work so, what's another 50 bucks?

Be sure the emergency brake actuation cables are free. It is common to get moisture in the cables, then they rust and seize up. Or in the winter, the moisture will freeze and the cables will not slide in the sheath as they should.

Well I have to say I am experiencing the same problem. After replacing both parking brake cables as well. I have double checked and triple checked the parts to make sure they are an exact fit for my gf’s 2008 RAV4. I’ve purchased: 2 parking brake cables, brand new shoes, brand new rotors, all new hardware. I’ve tried detaching the brand new parking brake cables from the handle in the Cab to release all tension, and the rotors still won’t fit around the new shoes.

This car is apparently from the east coast, and there’s a hell of a lot of corrosion going on. Perhaps the metal backing plates have expanded or contracted in the process? I’m sort of running out of ideas. I hired a mobile mechanic to come take a look. He says everything looks right, and wonders if we got the right parts. I measured the rotors with a tape measure, exactly the same. I compared the shoes to the old ones, match.

Gettin the old rotors off was a feat, and as I did the old parking brake pads literally disintegrated in the process on the passenger side.

Does anyone have any idea on what the part is called that the shoes sit on? Like a brake shield perhaps? Maybe a rear hub assembly???

You have to adjust tension on drum brake shoes especially if you replaced them. Done by flat head screwdriver. Tighten until rotor is slightly dragging and then release by 3-4 clicks. Check parking brake pedal, if goes too low tighten by few clicks:

Update: I eventually gave up. Took it to the Mexican auto shop I know down the street. Come to find the brake shoes I bought were “defective.” I triple checked the parts and showed Jorge, the only guy who speaks English there. We confirmed they were the right ones.

He had his guys grind down the inside of the shoes, the part where the metal bracket connects the two shoes together on the top side. I was noticing things were not flush at the location.

I just ripped out all the insides of the rotor to drive it to the shop. I also detached two connection points on the (now two) new brake cables, and zip tied them to parts of the underbody of the car haha.

I was so over it. Bad brake shoes were the culprit for me.